Letter: State Medicaid directors want more help from feds

State Medicaid directors want more help from the federal government in implementing expanded Medicaid eligibility requirements, according to a letter sent to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid.

In the 24-page letter to CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, M.D. on Oct. 31, members of the National Association of Medicaid Directors asked CMS to reconsider some implementation deadlines. It also asked for clarification on specific scenarios related to household size, income, and verification.

Expansion of Medicaid eligibility, under the Affordable Care Act, is expected to increase the number of beneficiaries from 69 to 90 million. Almost two-thirds of nursing home residents are enrolled in Medicaid.

The directors asked that employees of private companies be allowed to make determinations on eligibility, not just government employees.

About 60,000 elderly or disabled Medicaid recipients in Louisiana are being told they should expect to lose their benefits in July, and advocates say more than a quarter of them could be forced out of the long-term care facilities they call home.